The Roots
of Hasidism

By CHAIM
SHNEIDER, HasidicNews.com Writer

In the
eighteenth century, serfdom dominated Eastern Europe. Most People did
not own anything of their own. They were given a piece of land; worked
very hard to produce crops, and as long as they could produce enough to
allow for a sufficient tax for the lord, the lord was satisfied and the
peasant made it through another year.

Peasants
were the lucky ones. Jews were generally not allowed that; they did not
get any property to toil. They were forced to become peddlers, merchants
and bartenders. Life for Jews in Eastern Europe in those days was
significantly more miserable than a common peasant. It was normal for a
Jew not to know from where to feed his wife and kids the next day. In
addition to Occupational restrictions, they were restricted
residentially too.

From among
this despair and misery in Poland arose a person name Reb Yisrael Baal
Shem (Master of the Good Name). He began preaching about the importance
of community, brotherhood and spirituality. He used to go from town to
town to spread his message, as he quickly struck a deep not among his
miserable, desperate people.

It did not
take very long before his name became widely known in Eastern Europe.
Whenever he would visit a town, people would gather to see him speak to
him in private, discuss their livelihood problems, and often Reb Yisrael
would come up with amazing working solutions. People were marveling
about the miracles he used to perform in order to help a fellow Jew. The
concept of miracles and the comfort he instilled was a very strong boost
to the spirituality of Jews in those days, and it helped them survive
both physically and mentally in those trying years.

Upon his
death, Reb Yisrael from Koznitz was the most prominent of his disciples
and assumed the Hasidic leadership role. His disciples in turn
established their own Hasidic communities locally. Hasidism quickly
spread throughout Easter Europe and their communities were rapidly
growing.

Reb Eliyahu
from Vilna, considered a mighty Torah scholar and a prominent authority,
strongly opposed Hasidism, as he saw it as a deviation from traditional
rigid Judaism and from Halacha (Jewish Law) .He launched a campaign
against the newly formed movement and ostracized its follower.

After Reb
Eliyahu died, it became apparent that the Hasidic movement was too big
and permanent to be ostracized. Slowly but steadily, Hasidism came to be
accepted as a legitimate way of observing Judaism. Hasidim were known
for their devout practices, such as frequenting the Mikva. They
sometimes didn't follow Halacha, such as Davening (praying) late in the
day.

Hasidism
Branched out into literally hundreds of Rabbinic dynasties. Every town
would have their own Hasidic Rabbi, even though there usually was an
official Rav as well who was officially leading the local Jewish
community. Sometimes the Hasidim would clash with the rest of the Jewish
community about their clandestine and mystic practices. They would often
form their own "Minyan" in what came to be called a "Shtiebel", rather
then go to the main synagogue in town.

Hasidism
was greatest in Poland. 3.5 Million Jews lived in Poland immediately
before WWII. The vast majority of them were Hasidim. They mostly
belonged to the "Aleksander" dynasty. This is one of the very sore
points in Hasidic as well as Jewish history, as the Aleksander community
now nearly extinct. After the War When most of Polish Jewry perished,
other communities managed to rebuild but Aleksander never managed to do
so.

The
Roots of Satmar

By
CHAIM SHNEIDER,HasidicNews.com Writer

Satmar
is named after a Hungarian town, whereby a thriving Jewish community
existed before WWII. Satmar, like most Jewish towns in eastern Europe
had several communities. It had a central, official, Orthodox synagogue,
a reformed synagogue and a Hasidic synagogue. In the 1920's the reform
population was dwindling while the Orthodox and Hasidic populations were
growing. In 1929, the Rav of the Orthodox community in Satmar passed
away. Some in the community, bent towards the increasingly popular
Hasidic style and a strong leader, consented or even preferred to
appoint a Hasidic rabbi. When Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum (then Rav in Krooly)
was invited for a Shabbas to Satmar, he demonstrated exceptional
scholastic achievement and talmudic knowledge, somewhat different than
the prevailing image of a Hasid as being more spiritual and less
Scholastic. Those in the community who liked him, liked him even more,
and his followership grew after several invitations. When it came down
to a vote, the then-Krooly Rav won by a narrow margin. This was
definitely a promotion, as the Satmar community was larger, more modern
and wealthier. In the beginning, some in the community were very
suspicious of having a Hasidic Rav, but the new Rav was very keen in
dealing with those people in a very subtle and accommodating way, as he
strategically won their hearts over.

The
community prospered under his leadership. Students started coming from
all neighboring towns to the Satmar yeshiva and later from all over
Hungary. In the years immediately preceding the war, Satmar was
considered one of the greatest Orthodox Jewish centers in Hungary. Rabbi
Joel Teitelbaum would hold long, sophisticated lectures on Talmudic
subjects, inspiring and bewildering everyone. Everyone in his
congregation was proud of him and admired him greatly. When the war was
spreading, and the Jews in Hungary were being rounded up in to
concentration camps by the Nazis, the rav's people arranged for him to
leave the city in middle of the night clandestinely in an ambulance, for
the Nazis first order of business in any town was arresting the local
Rav. There was a problem with the destination address. It wasn't very
clear for the Rav and his companions what the address was or where to
find it and there was no one to ask in middle of the night. The
ambulance driver became increasingly nervous, as he was to return the
ambulance by morning, in order not to raise any suspicion. The Rav was
dropped on the street in the town of Klozenberg, and was soon afterwards
arrested. He was released after his people found out where he was, and
pleaded and bribed the local authorities.

It became
clear to the rav's friends and followers the urgency of finding a
permanent escape and safe haven for the Rav. A Zionist organization had
managed to arrange with the Nazis to allow about 1400 of their people to
leave for neutral Switzerland, in return for a heavy ransom. The rav's
people managed to include the Rav and his wife in that transport list.
The Zionists ended up not paying the full amount of money promised to
the Nazis, and the Nazis ordered the train stopped at the border. The
Zionists bribed the guards to record their arrival several minutes
earlier, so as to render the last-minute retraction too late. On the
twenty first of Kislev (Hebrew month) the Rav crossed the border, being
the only Hasidic Rav in that entire group, and was relatively safe in
Switzerland. He stayed in camps for several months until the war was
over, during which time it is said that he kept Kashrus fully despite
the challenge and difficulty.

In 1946 the
Rav left for Israel, where he stayed with his sun-in-law for about a
year. Life was extremely difficult for the shattered poor community who
had nothing left. There wasn't a single family that wasn't affected by
the Holocaust. Allot of people were questioning the effectiveness of
worshipping God and keeping the Torah after all that god allowed to
happen for his chosen people. The Rav was very distressed about all this
and took it upon himself to rebuild the community. Eventually, the Rav
left for a visit to the US to raise money for one of his campaigns. He
met allot of people from his former community in the US, as well as
others from all over Hungary. They urged him to stay and help rebuild
the community and comfort their wounds. The Rav eventually acquiesced to
stay.

The rav's
decision to stay marked the beginning of the modern Satmar dynasty.
During the first few Shabattim, he was staying in Williamsburg -
Brooklyn without even his own Shul. After a few months a small but
close-knit group of former community members and friends gathered around
him and founded newly replanted "Yetev Lev" Satmar congregation in 1947.
The congregation immediately elected him as rav and granted him broad
powers. The congregation was growing rapidly as more people from Hungary
arrived to the US and settled in Williamsburg. They quickly outgrew the
premises and had to move to accommodate the crowd. In 1948 the rav drew
worldwide Jewish attention when he was the only prominent Jewish figure
to categorically renounce the newly founded Jewish state. He would sob
tremendously on Shabbas "Shallosh Seeudos" gatherings about the harm
that the Jewish state causes and about how sinful it is for Jews to
establish their own power prior to the arrival of "Mashiach" to redeem
them.

His resolve
and sincerity about this issue impressed people in his congregation who
would have otherwise been cheering for Israel. They remained neutral and
accepted all the blame and embarrassment the Satmar community
experienced in those days.

After those
early years, the immigration wave surged once again in the 1960's. The
Satmar rav was by then already considered a leading figure in the US
Orthodox Jewish community. People were coming to seek his advice and
blessing from all over the globe. One congregation in Williamsburg
quickly branched out into tens of congregations in Williamsburg and
various parts in Brooklyn as well as nationwide and abroad. By the
1960's, the Satmar community was easily the largest Hasidic community in
the US. Hasidim from sects whose Rabbi's had passed away in the course
of WWII were converting to Satmar en masse.

1967 marked
the Israeli-Arab "six day war", during which the Israelis won a
landslide victory. The Satmar rav again found himself being the only
person lamenting Israel's victory instead of celebrating it. It bothered
him very much to see people, even from his own community, subconsciously
celebrating the Israeli victory. He would thunder and scream during his
famous "Shallosh Seeudos" sermon's. At one point he ordered that no one
who believes in the Zionist cause should ever step through the Shul's
door again. This issue seemingly damaged his health, as he experienced a
severe heart attack a year later. He never fully recovered from his
illness. Never again would anyone hear those thunderous sermons. It was
a thing of the past. Eventually he did resume "Shallosh Seeudos" sermons
but it wasn't quite like the good old days.

In the
early 70's, the rav bought some land in Monroe, NY and founded the first
Satmar town in the US. It was named after the rav "Joel's town" or
"Kiryat Joel". By 1979, Satmar was a very powerful and huge community.
It had held protests against state of Israel on various occasions. There
were quite a few wealthy successful business men in the community, who
would sponsor various projects the Rav had initiated. Satmar
congregations owned hundreds of properties all over New York, and had
communities in Europe and Israel as well.

The Rav's
last major public appearance was at the foundation of the "Keren
Hatzalah" (=redeeming principle), a fund raising money for Israeli
Jewish educational institutions, who pledge not to apply or receive any
government aid. According to the Satmar rav, taking money from the
Zionists is prohibited, as they are grave sinners. Several weeks later
on a Saturday evening he passed away.

Tens of
thousands of people attended his funeral on a bright Sunday morning in
Monroe NY where he was put to rest in the newly founded "town". The
Satmar community as well as the entire Hasidic community was grieving at
the tremendous loss. He left no children behind, as all of his three
daughters died while he was still alive.

Lubavitch, An Omnipresent Empire

By
CHAIM SHNEIDER, HasidicNews.com Writer

Lubavitch
is somewhat isolated from the other Hasidic groups. Lubavitch started at
the town of Lubavitch in Russia about 150 years ago where the Author of
the Tanye lived. He founded the Lubavitch school of Chasidus and passed
it on to his posterity. Lubavitch was a rather small Chasidus before
WWII. Yosef Yitzchak Shneirson, Lubavitch Rebbe at the time, survived
the war and made it to the US soon thereafter. He died in 1949 and left
no carry on the Chassidus. His son-in-law Menachem Mendel Shneirson was
given the task of carrying on with the dynasty. He, unlike other Hasidic
Rebbe's, was college educated and very well-read. He adopted a very
mystical but independent approach to the concept of Chasidus. He in a
sense reinvented it. He claimed to be just interpreting the "Older
Rebbe's teachings. Practically speaking, though, he came up with an
entire new model. Ultimately Chabad (a synonym to Lubavitch) developed
into a very unique Chasidus.

Some of
Chabad's unique characteristics are: Members do not necessarily live in
a single close-knit community. On the contrary, they are encouraged to
seek out lost souls across the US, Europe, Israel and Russia after the
break of the Soviet Union. Chabad Hasidim speak English as a first
language, not Yiddish. They do NOT wear the popular "Shtreimel" on
Shabbas. They are exposed to secular culture a great deal, through
various projects of Kiruv and elsewhere.

Shlichus is
one of the very popular Chabad projects initiated by the Lubavitch Rebbe
Menachem Mendel Shneirson. Male Yeshiva students at about age 18-19
would be sent all over the globe to teach jews about their heritage, set
up local congregations, bring Kosher food, and build a Mikva. Getting
people to put on Tefillin is one of the very common tasks every Shliach
has performed at least once. If you go to the Western Wall, you'll
always have a Shliach putting on administering the Tefillin to anyone
interested.

Chabad
never shied away from science and secular exposure like other Hasidic
sects. Lubavitch Rebbe is the only Hasidic Rebbe that had received a
college education. Chabad Hasidim are no different. Chabad welcomes the
opportunity to explain to non-observant jews and non-jews alike the
concepts of Judaism and Chabad. They don't shy away from the media and
the public spotlight. They are literally everywhere. Every town that has
more than a few jews, has a "Chabad house" or a local shellac's private
house assumes the functions of a Chabad house. Chabad Hasidim are know
for their kindness and amiability to everyone including people who are
not Jewish at all.

In the
1980's, the Rebbe started talking about the arrival of Messiah and the
revelation of God. Hasidim eventually became convinced that their Rebbe
is the actual Messiah and that the redemption day, the day the Rebbe
will reveal himself as the Redeemer, is near. In the 1990's this belief
intensified and engulfed every element of the Lubavitch community.
Hasidim literally believed that it's a matter of days or even hours.
They would arrange special "crowning events" where Mashiach will be
crowned, or Mashiach discussion groups. Hasidm believed that talking
about Mashiach and about the Rebbe will expedite the Rebbe's revelation.

The Rebbe
never explicitly claimed to be Mashiach. His manner of speech was always
one of enigma and mysticism. He would talk about "lights" and "spirit"
and other kabala-related subjects. It was therefore hard to detect
anything concrete and absolute. If he did mean to say that he is
Mashiach and has been sent by God to redeem his people, he certainly did
not say it in an unequivocal fashion. He would, however, cheer on the
crowd singing "We want Mashiach now" or even chanting "May out lord,
teacher, master, the anointed king live forever".

When he
became ill in the early 90's Hasidim were convinced that it's just a
test of faith and a pre-revelation endurance. The Rebbe died in 1994
after being unconscious for several months. Fear and confusion gripped
Chabad Hasidim worldwide. They didn't know what to make out of it. Some
believed that the Rebbe isn't really dead. Mashiach lives forever;
therefore, the Rebbe cannot be dead. Some Hasidim were seen dancing and
chanting the abovementioned phrase at the Rebbe's funeral at 770 in
crown Heights Brooklyn.

Most
Hasidim, though, realized by then that the Rebbe is dead and will remain
that way. They believed that the Rebbe was "capable" and worthy of being
messiah, but the generation wasn't or didn't do enough to bring about
the realization of his revelation and the people's redemption.

The Rebbe
did not leave behind any children and Chabad Hasidim never appointed a
new Rebbe. They believed their Rebbe was the seventh in the Chabad
dynasty and the last. No one can or should succeed him. They appointed
various people by the title of "Mashpia" (inspirer) but not as "Rebbe".

The Belz'e
sect

By
CHAIM SHNEIDER, HasidicNews.com Writer

Belz is
name d after a town in Galician. The Belz dynasty dates back to the
nineteenth century. Its founder was Rav Dov. One of Belz'e unique
characteristics was its "Yoshvim" program. Married men would remain in
the synagogue all day and study the Talmud and pray. "Yoshvim" were
supported by businessmen and merchants in the community. They had
absolutely no income of their own. Food and other necessities would be
brought to them straight to the synagogue so they don't have to leave
the Shul even for a short time. Some "Yoshvim" would sleep over in the
Shul on the bench, and would typically stay remain in the Shul, immersed
in Torah study, worship of God and deriving inspiration from the Rebbe
until the Rebbe would tell them to go home and to the "Mitzvah" with
their wives, after which they would return and remain in Shul for anther
5 months or so.

Unlike
Satmar and other established Orthodox congregations, the Belz'e sect was
originally founded as a "Chasidus", not as an official congregation. The
leader was therefore called a "Rebbe" not a Rav, and had no official or
government recognized power. The role of a Rebbe was more spiritual and
followers usually had hundred's of stories about miracles performed by
the "Rebbe" as well as instances where the "Rebbe" was inspired by
"Ruach Hakodesh" (Holy Spirit) to know one's personal life or the
future, and accordingly advise his followers.

The Belz'e
dynasty, like most other Hasidic dynasties in the nineteenth century,
was inherited, unlike the original Hasidic communities whose leaders did
not pass over leadership to their offspring but to the most qualified
disciple. The last Belz'e Rebbe Yisoochar Dov passed away in the 1930's.
His son Aharon was crowned as the new Belze Rebbe as customary. Unlike
Satmar, the Belz'e community was rather static and its leader did not
maintain a high profile. Aharon's Hasidim would be raving about miracles
and open "Ruach Hakodesh" about their Rebbe. This was a bit uncommon in
those modern days.

When the
WWII hit home, Hasidim devised a rescue plan for the Rebbe. According to
the story, they managed obtain the services of a driver who would drive
the Rebbe, his wife and to others across the border using falsified
documents, pretending to be Government officials in the course of
performing their duty. They were stopped at the border, their identity
questioned and were about to be detained when three tall high-ranking
officials ordered that they be allowed to pass the border. Hasidim
believe that those three men were angels sent from heaven, as their
identity was never discovered.

The Rebbe
stayed in Switzerland and left for Israel after the war. He settled in
Bnei Brak, where there was a fledgling Hasidic community. Unlike Satmar,
originally from Hungary, Belz suffered a lot greater losses in the
Holocaust. Belz, like some of the other Polish-originating communities
was nearly wiped out. Some Hasidic followers from other communities
joined Belz, after their Rebbe did not survive. The Rebbe was known,
after the war, to be extremely Holy. He only weighed 90 pounds and
rarely ate anything. People would say that he is really in heaven, only
his body being in this physical world.

He died in
1957, with Thousands of admirers following his casket at the funeral in
Bnei Brak, Israel. He did not have as much devout followers within his
community as he did enchanted admirers who believed very strongly in the
Rebbe's Holiness and righteousness. He is widely believed to be among
the last of the old-generation holy Hasidic Rebbe's. His nephew Dov was
appointed Belz'e Rebbe soon thereafter. He was born after the war and
was only 18 when appointed leader of the Belz'e community. He adopted a
very modern somewhat revolutionary policy of secular government
relationships and community customs. Satmar was very angered by his
decision to send delegates to the secular Israeli "Knesset" and instruct
his followers to vote.

The Belz'e
Rebbe lashed back in 1981 at the Satmar allegations and proclaimed
himself as knowing well enough on his own what Belz should be like, and
allegedly insulted the already deceased former Satmar Rebbe, Joel
Teitelbam. Satmar was angered even more, and managed to obtain
signatures from significant segments of the Hasidic and Ultra-Orthodox
in an attempt to renounce and even ostracize the Belz'e Rebbe. This
created a huge and lasting rift between the Belz and Satmar communities.

In the
1980's the Rebbe also launched what is probably the biggest modern
Hasidic construction project ever. Plans called for a humongous huge and
magnificent Synagogue in the Belze section in Jerusalem. That building
would, additionally include Wedding and Bar Mitzvah halls,
sub-synagogues, libraries, learning centers, as well other community and
civic centers. Unlike in the US, where Rebbe's find it relatively easy
to raise money, in Israel most local Hasidim do not have much to spare.
He, thus resorted to various fund-raising projects overseas among his
followers and supporters, throughout the 80 and 90's. At one point he
changed plans in the construction which required the demolition of some
already built parts, which angered many.

At the turn
of the century, the structure was mostly complete and can be seen to
this day in "Kiryat Belz" in Jerusalem.

The Two
Viznitz's

By
CHAIM SHNEIDER, HasidicNews.com Researcher

Viznitz started in Hungary about hundred years ago. After the WWII Reb
Chayim Mei'rel, as he was affectionately called was leading the sect in
Bnei Brak, Israel.

Disciples
from pre-war Europe gathered around him and formed the "Kirya" (town) in
Bnei Brak, along with a comprehensive net of educational and communal
institutions. He was later known to head the Ultra-Orthodox political
and social organization "Agudas Yisrael". Agudas Yisrael has had roughly
4 seats in the Israeli Knesset (out of 120) from the time it was founded
to this day. It has thus never had major political influence, yet it
managed to extract significant "concessions" and financial aid from the
ruling governments in return for their support of the ruling party or
coalition.

Reb Chayim
Mei'rel had two sons, the older Moshelle and the younger Mottele. While
the Moshelle was raised and educated in the community, Mottelle
preferred to study the Talmud in the Satmar Yeshiva in Brooklyn after he
came to the US for a visit and became attracted to the Satmar "Shittah"
(unique religious policy). He was somewhat resented back home in Viznitz
for this act signaling a departure from the traditional Viznitz style.

After Reb
Chayim Mei'rel passed away, Reb Moshelle was, expectedly, appointed to
lead the Viznitz community in Bnei Brak, while some dissenters and
Viznitz Hassidim in the US gathered around Moshelle and helped him
create the Viznitz community in the fledgling Jewish settlement in
Monsey, NY. He quickly became known as a "kanui" (zealot). He protested
his brothers participation in the secular anti-messianic Israeli
government as well as other policies. While he was a stanch disciple and
referrer of the old Satmar Rebbe Joel Teitelbaum, he wasn't as kind in
relation to the newly appointed nephew Moshe Teitelbaum. He frequently
criticized him and drew harsh reaction in return.

In the
famous Kiryat Joel independent school district case that ultimately came
before the Supreme Court of the United States, he was outspoken against
Satmar. He publicly criticized Aaron's handling of the case as Aaron
announced that no religious studies were being taught to the handicapped
children and that "god's name is not being mentioned" in the
government-sponsored premises. Aaron was prompted to say this in order
to continue receiving the millions of dollars in aid from the government
and not violate the separation of church and state constitutional
clause. Reb Mottelle and other Rabbis believed that this announcement
was an immense "Chillul Hashem" (profanity of god's name).

While Reb
Mottelle has always stuck to a very independent non-chalant mannerism of
publicly criticizing any Rebbe or Hasidic leader he believed wasn't
doing or saying the right thing, he did manage to maintain a chore of
followers and established various "shtieblech" (cells) throughout the
Metropolitan area and even abroad. Some people came to admire his
obstinate attitude while others believed that it was simply stupid to
get involved in every Hasidic sect's internal affairs and announce his
opinion unasked.

Reb
Moshelle held on the existing and much-larger Viznitz community in Bnei
Brak and followed a very traditional Viznitz-like model. He had a very
elegant "Hadras Panim" and commanded significant respect in the
religious establishment in Israel, both as being one of the largest
Hasidic sects in Israel and as being the president of the "Aguda". He is
also known for his long and beautiful friday night "Tish" and his
extensive skill in public speaking. His three daughters were married to
Aaron Teitelbam, Rav of Kiryat Joel, Yisuchar Dov Roke'ach, Belz'e Rebbe
and the Skver'e Rebbe.

The Shiduch
(engagement) that he did with the then-Sigget'e Rebbe Moshe Teitelbaum
drew much opposition and stirred up much controversy in Satmar. When the
Satmar Rebbe passed away in 1978 and he was viewed as a potential
successor as the closest akin, many people objected for the mere reason
that he was "Meshadech" with an "Agadist". Years later, after Moshe was
elected Satmar Rebbe and his son Aaron Kiryat Joel Rav and Aaron
celebrated the wedding of his son Mendel, inviting his father-in-law Reb
Moshelle to the wedding, Hassidim pinched his legs and tossed orange
peels on the Viznitz'e Rebbe and Aaron had to beg his Hassidim to leave
his father-in-law alone.

Bobov

By
CHAIM SHNEIDER, HasidicNews.com Researcher

Bobov is
named after the little Polish town where the original Bobov Rebbe, Rav
Shlomo Halbershtam founded the sect. He was adescendant of the the
Tzanz'e Rav (Baal Divrei Chayim) and modeled his Hasidic style after the
Tzanz.

Bobov
wasn't a very big Chassidus at any given time. In fact, it was rumored
that upon saying "Ose Shalom" when finishing one's prayers (during which
times one takes three steps backwords), Bobov'e Chassidim had to
remember to take along their passport to show upon return. That's how
small Bobov was and that's how numerous and unstable governments in the
region were in those days.

Bobov, like
all Polish Jewish communities was severly hit by the Holocaust during
WWII. Most Chassidim were killed by the Nazis as was the Bobov Rebbe
Bentzion Halbershtam. His son Shlomo was in his young 20's during that
time and he managed to survive the war and emigrated to Brooklyn, NY
soon thereafter.

Crown
Heights was then a Jewish neighberhood and that's where Shlomo settled
and established a shul and evntually other religious instituions. His
followers were very few at the time, since the vast majority of them did
not survive the war. He infused much needed courage into the hearts of
those who did survive and were struggling to start a new life and family
in a strange country.

Unlike many
other Hassidic Rebbe's, the Bobov'e Rav was a bit modern and extremely
down-to-earth. Bobov'e chassdim are known to be very neat and "bapitzt"
at all times and the Rebbe acted as an adviser on a personal level, not
so much as a spiritual leader.

Eventually,
the few Bobov Holocaust survivors were joined by other Polish Chassidim
whose Rebbe did not survive and were thus left without a chassidus. Over
the years the community grew and moved over to Borough Park. Bobov is
now the biggest Hassidic community headquartered in Borough Park.

The Rav,
Shlomo, led his people many years until he passed away in 2000. He was
known to avoid getting invloved in other Hassidic quarreling. He made it
a point to remain friendly with all Hasidic sects, including Satmar,
Klozenberg and even Belz. He would simply refuse to sign any posters
that spoke out against a particular Rebbe or to ebdorse a particular
side. He was quite successful at that and will forever be praised for
this accomplishment.

There was
some speculation before he passed away as to who whould succeed him.
Some people favored the older son, born before the war, Nafuli, and some
favored the younger, more charismatic and social son Bantziyon. He was
born after the war by the Rav's new wife (his original wife died in the
Holocaust). However, The dispute never evolved into any real fighting.
It was eventually unaninmously agreed that Naftuli would become Rav and
Bantziyon ould be name "Rav Hatzair" (the young Rav). This essentially
guarentees the throne to Bentziyon, rather than to Naftuli's descendants
after Naftuli dies.